A Baltimore Ravens cheerleader says she's been benched from the Super Bowl because she gained a few pounds.
Twenty-three-year-old Courtney Lenz has spent five seasons with the Ravens and she expected to join the team in New Orleans for the Super Bowl. NFL rules say that only 32 members of the Ravens 60-woman cheer squad can perform in Sunday's game, but Lenz thought he'd make the cut because she has seniority and all the women with more than three years with the team made the cut, except for Courtney.
She claims it's because she gained 1.4 pounds during the season, putting her weight at more than 125 pounds, while the team wanted her to get down to 120.
A Ravens spokeswoman said in a statement, "Our selection process was based upon three criteria: seniority, performance ability and personal conduct throughout the season. As much as we would like to take the whole team, we are unable to do so, due to parameters set by the NFL."
Courtney's supporters have started an online petition and a Facebook page to right the "injustice." As of Thursday afternoon, it had 25,000 signatures while the Facebook page had more than 5,000 "likes."